CHAPTER 2 – GETTING STARTED

Let’s begin with starting of an NX 12 session. This chapter will provide the basics required to use
any CAD/CAM package. You will learn the preliminary steps to start, to understand and to use the
NX 12 package for modeling, drafting, etc. It contains five sub-sections a) Opening an NX 12
session, b) Printing, saving, and closing part files, c) getting acquainted with the NX 12 user
interface d) Using layers and e) Understanding important commands and dialogs.

2.1 STARTING AN NX 12 SESSION AND OPENING FILES

2.1.1 Start an NX 12 Session

 From the Windows desktop screen, click on Start → Program List →Siemens NX 12 →
NX 12

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The main NX 12 Screen will open. This is the Gateway for the NX 12 software. The NX 12 blank
screen looks like the figure shown below. There will be several tips displayed on the screen about
the special features of the current version. The Gateway also has the Standard Toolbar that will
allow you to create a new file or open an existing file. On the left side of the Gateway screen, there
is a toolbar called the Resource Bar that has menus related to different modules and the ability to
define and change the Role of the software, view History of the software use and so on. This will
be explained in detail later in this chapter.

2.1.2 Open a New File

Let’s begin by learning how to open a new part file in NX 12. To create a new file there are three
options.

 Click on the New button on top of the screen

OR

 Go through the File drop-down menu at the top-left of the screen and click New

OR

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  Press <Ctrl> + N
This will open a new session, asking for the type, name and location of the new file to be created.

There are numerous types of files in NX 12 to select from the Templates dialogue box located at
the center of the window. The properties of the selected file are displayed below the Preview on
the right side. Since we want to work in the modeling environment and create new parts, only
specify the units (inches or millimeters) of the working environment and the name and location of
the file. The default unit is millimeters.

 Enter an appropriate name and location for the file and click OK

2.1.3 Open a Part File

There are several ways to open an existing file.

 Click on the Open or Open a Recent Part button on top of the screen

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OR

 Go through the File drop-down menu at the top-left of the screen and click Open

OR

 Press <Ctrl> + O

The Open Part File dialog will appear. You can see the preview of the files on the right side of the
window. You can disable the Preview by un-clicking the box in front of the Preview button.

 Click Cancel to exit the window

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2.2 PRINTING, SAVING AND CLOSING FILES

2.2.1 Print an NX 12 Image

To print an image from the current display,

 Click File →Print

The following figure shows the Print dialog box. Here,

you can choose the printer to use or specify the number
of copies to be printed, size of the paper and so on.
You can also select the scale for all the three
dimensions. You can also choose the method of
printing, i.e. wireframe, solid model by clicking on the
Output drop down-menu as shown in the Figure on right
side
 Click Cancel to exit the window

2.2.2 Save Part Files

It is imperative that you save your work frequently. If
for some reasons, NX 12 shuts down and the part is not
saved, all the work will be lost. To save the part files,

 Click File →Save

There are five options to save a file:
Save: This option will save the part on screen with the
same name as given before while creating the part file.

Save Work Part Only: This option will only save the
active part on the screen.

Save As: This option allows you to save the part on screen using a different name and/or type. The
default type is .prt. However, you can save your file as IGES (.igs), STEP 203 (.stp), STEP 214
(.step), AutoCAD DXF (.dxf), AutoCAD DWG (.dwg), CATIA Model (.model) and CATIA V5
(.catpart).

Save All: This option will save all the opened part files with their existing names.

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Save Bookmark: This option will save a screenshot and context of the present model on the screen
as a .JPEG file and bookmarks.

2.2.3 Close Part Files

You can choose to close the parts that are
visible on screen by

 Click File →Close

If you close a file, the file will be cleared from
the working memory and any changes that are
not saved will be lost. Therefore, remember
to select Save and Close, Save As and Close,
Save All and Close or Save All and Exit. In
case of the first three options, the parts that
are selected or all parts will be closed but the
NX 12 session keeps on running.

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2.2.4 Exit an NX 12 Session
 Click File →Exit

If you have files open and have made changes to them without saving, the message will ask you if
you really want to exit.

 Select No, save the files and then Exit

2.3 NX 12 INTERFACE

The user interface of NX 12 is made very simple through the use of different icons. Most of the
commands can be executed by navigating the mouse around the screen and clicking on the icons.
The keyboard entries are mostly limited to entering values and naming files.

2.3.1 Mouse Functionality

2.3.1.1 Left Mouse Button (MB1)
The left mouse button, named Mouse Button 1 (MB1) in NX, is used for Selection of icons, menus,
and other entities on the graphic screen. Double clicking MB1 on any feature will automatically
open the Edit Dialog box. Clicking MB1 on an object enables the user to have quick access to
several options shown below. These options will be discussed in next chapters.

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2.3.1.2 Middle Mouse Button (MB2)
The middle mouse button (MB2) or the scroll button is used to Rotate the object by pressing,
holding and dragging. The model can also be rotated about a single axis. To rotate about the axis
horizontal to the screen, place the mouse pointer near the right edge of the graphic screen and
rotate. Similarly, for the vertical axis and the axis perpendicular to the screen, click at the bottom
edge and top edge of the screen respectively and rotate. If you keep pressing the MB2 at the same
position for a couple of seconds, it will fix the point of rotation (an orange circle symbol appears)
and you can drag around the object to view.

If it is a scroll button, the object can be zoomed in and out by scrolling. Clicking the MB2 will
also execute the OK command if any pop-up window or dialog box is open.

2.3.1.3 Right Mouse Button (MB3)

MB3 or Right Mouse Button is used to
access the user interface pop-up
menus. You can access the subsequent
options that pop up depending on the
selection mode and Application. The
figure shown below is in Sketch
Application. Clicking on MB3 when a
feature is selected will give the options
related to that feature (Object/Action
Menu).

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Clicking MB3 and holding the button will display a set of icons around the feature.
These icons feature the possible commands that can be applied to the feature.

2.3.1.4 Combination of Buttons

Zoom In /Out:

 Press and hold both MB1 and MB2 simultaneously and drag

OR

 Press and hold <Ctrl> button on the keyboard and then press and drag the MB2

OR

Pan:

 Press and hold both the MB2 and MB3 simultaneously and drag

OR

 Press and hold <Shift> button on the keyboard and press and drag the MB2

Shortcut to menus:

 Press and hold <Ctrl> + <Shift> and MB1, MB2 and MB3 to see shortcuts to Feature,
Direct Sketch, and Synchronous Modeling groups, respectively

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2.3.2 NX 12 Gateway
The following figure shows the typical layout of the NX 12 window when a file is opened. This is
the Gateway of NX 12 from where you can select any module to work on such as modeling,
manufacturing, etc. It has to be noted that these toolbars may not be exactly on the same position
of the screen as shown below. The toolbars can be placed at any location or position on the screen.
Look out for the same set of icons.

Quick Access Toolbar

Ribbon Bar

Top-border
Groups
Tabs Command Finder

Resource Bar
Graphic Window

Cue Line

2.3.2.1 Ribbon Bar

The ribbon bar interface gives the user the ability to access the different commands easily without
reducing the graphics window area. Commands are organized in ribbon bars under different tabs
and groups for easy recognition and accessibility.

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For example in the ribbon bar shown in the figure above, we have home, curve, etc. tabs. In the
home tab, we have direct sketch, feature, synchronous modeling and surface groups. And in each
group, we have a set of featured commands.

2.3.2.2 Quick Access Toolbar

The quick access toolbar has most commonly used buttons (save, undo, redo, cut, copy, paste and
recent commands) to expedite the modeling process. You may easily customize these buttons as
shown in the figure below.

2.3.2.3 Command Finder

If you do not know where to find a command, use Command Finder. Let’s say we have forgotten
where the Styled Sweep is.

 Type sweep in the Command Finder

 Hover the mouse over Styled Sweep

 NX will show you the path to the command: Menu →Insert →Sweep →Styled Sweep

OR

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  Type sweep in the Command Finder

 Click on Styled Sweep in the Command Finder window

2.3.2.4 Top-border
The most important button in the top-border is the menu button. Most of the features and functions
of the software are available in the menu. The Selection Bar displays the selection options. These
options include the Filters, Components/Assembly, and Snap Points for selecting features. Most
common buttons in the View tab are also displayed in the Top-border.

2.3.2.5 Resource Bar

The Resource Bar features icons for a number of pages in one place using very little user interface
space. NX 12 places all navigator windows (Assembly, Constraint and Part) in the Resource Bar,
as well as the Reuse Library, HD3D Tools, Web Browser, History Palette, Process Studio,
Manufacturing Wizards, Roles and System Scenes. Two of the most important widows are
explained below.

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Part Navigator

 Click on the Part Navigator icon, the third

icon from the top on the Resource bar

The Part Navigator provides a visual representation

of the parent-child relationships of features in the
work part in a separate window in a tree type format.
It shows all the primitives, entities used during
modeling. It allows you to perform various editing
actions on those features. For example, you can use
the Part Navigator to Suppress or Unsuppress the
features or change their parameters or positioning
dimensions. Removing the green tick mark will
‘Suppress’ the feature. The software will give a
warning if the parent child relationship is broken by
suppressing any particular feature.

The Part Navigator is available for all NX

applications and not just for modeling. However, you can only perform feature-editing operations
when you are in the Modeling module. Editing a feature in the Part Navigator will automatically
update the model. Feature editing will be discussed later.

History

 Click on the History icon, the seventh from the top on the Resource bar

The History Palette provides fast access to recently opened files or other palette entries. It can be
used to reload parts that have been recently worked on or to repeatedly add a small set of palette
items to a model.

The History Palette remembers the last palette options that were used and the state of the session
when it was closed. NX stores the palettes that were loaded into a session and restores them in the
next session. The system does not clean up the History Palette when parts are moved.

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To re-use a part, drag and drop it from the History
Palette to the Graphics Window. To reload a part,
click on a saved session bookmark.

2.3.2.6 Cue Line

The Cue Line displays prompt messages that indicate
the next action that needs to be taken. To the right of
the Cue line, the Status Line is located which
displays messages about the current options or the
most recently completed function.

The Progress Meter is displayed in the Cue Line

when the system performs a time-consuming
operation such as loading a large assembly. The
meter shows the percentage of the operation that has
been completed. When the operation is finished, the
system displays the next appropriate cue.

2.3.3 Geometry Selection

You can filter the selection method, which facilitates
easy selection of the geometry in a close cluster. In
addition, you can perform any of the feature
operation options that NX 12 intelligently provides
depending on the selected entity. Selection of items can be based on the degree of the entity like,
selection of Geometric entities, Features and Components. The selection method can be opted by
choosing one of the icons in the Selection Toolbar.

2.3.3.1 Feature Selection

Clicking on any of the icons lets you select the features in the part file. It will not select the basic
entities like edges, faces etc. The features selected can also be applied to a part or an entire
assembly depending upon the requirement.

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Besides that, the filtering of the features can be further narrowed down by
selecting one of the desired options in the drop-down menu as shown in the
figure. For example, selecting Curve will highlight only the curves in the
screen. The default is No Selection Filter.

2.3.3.2 General Object Selection

Navigate the mouse cursor closer to the entity until it is highlighted with a
magenta color and click the left mouse button to select any geometric entity,
feature, or component.

If you want to select an entity that is hidden behind the displayed geometry,
place the mouse cursor roughly close to that area on the screen such that the
cursor ball occupies a portion of the hidden geometry projected on the
screen. After a couple of seconds, the ball cursor turns into a plus symbol
as shown in the figure. Click the left mouse button (MB1) to get a Selection
Confirmation dialog box as shown in the
following figure below. This QuickPick
menu consists of the list of entities
captured within the ball of the cursor. The
entities are arranged in ascending order of
the degree of the entity. For example,
edges and vertices are assigned lower
numbers while solid faces are given
higher numbers. By moving the cursor on
the numbers displayed, NX 12 will
highlight the corresponding entity on the screen in a magenta color.

2.3.4 User Preferences

 Choose Preferences on the Menu button (located to top left of the main window) to find
the various options available

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User Preferences are used to define the display parameters of
new objects, names, layouts, and views. You can set the layer,
color, font, and width of created objects. You can also design
layouts and views, control the display of object and view
names and borders, change the size of the selection ball,
specify the selection rectangle method, set chaining tolerance
and method, and design and activate a grid. Changes that you
make using the Preferences menu override any counterpart
customer defaults for the same functions.

2.3.4.1 User Interface

 Choose Preferences →User Interface to find the
options in the dialog box

The User Interface option customizes how NX works and

interacts to specifications you set. You can control the
location, size and visibility status of the main window,
graphics display, and information window. You can set the
number of decimal places (precision) that the system uses for
both input text fields and data displayed in the information
window. You can also specify a full or small dialog for file
selection. You can also set macro options and enable a
confirmation dialog for Undo operations.

 The Layout tab allows you to select the User Interface Environment

 The Touch tab lets you use touch screens

 The Options tab allows you, among others, to set the precision level (in the Information
Window)

 The Journal tab in the Tools allows you to use several programming languages

 The Macro tab in the Tools allows you to set the pause while displaying animation

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2.3.4.2 Visualization
 Choose Preferences →Visualization to find the
options in the dialog box

This dialog box controls attributes that affect the display in

the graphics window. Some attributes are associated with
the part or with particular Views of the part. The settings for
these attributes are saved in the part file. For many of these
attributes, when a new part or a view is created, the setting
is initialized to the value specified in the Customer Defaults
file. Other attributes are associated with the session and
apply to all parts in the session. The settings of some of
these attributes are saved from session to session in the
registry. For some session attributes, the setting can be
initialized to the value specified by customer default, an
environment variable.

 Choose Preferences →Color Pallet to find the

options in the dialog box

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  Click on Preferences →Background to get
another pop up Dialog box. You can change
your background color whatever you want

The background color refers to the color of the

background of the graphics window. NX supports
graduated backgrounds for all display modes. You can
select background colors for Shaded or Wireframe
displays. The background can be Plain or Graduated.
Valid options for all background colors are 0 to 255.

You can change and observe the Color and

Translucency of objects.

 Click Preferences →Object

This will pop up a dialog window Object Preferences.

You can also apply this setting to individual entities of
the solid. For example, you can click on any particular
surface of the solid and apply the Display settings.

2.3.5 Applications
Applications can be opened using the File option
located at the top left corner of the main window OR
the Applications tab above the Ribbon bar. You can
select the type of application you want to run. For
example, you can select Modeling, Drafting,
Assembly, and so on as shown in the figure. The default Application that starts when you open a
file or start a new file is Modeling. We will introduce some of these Application in the next
chapters.

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2.4 LAYERS

Layers are used to store objects in a file, and work like containers to collect the objects in a
structured and consistent manner. Unlike simple visual tools like Show and Hide, Layers provide
a permanent way to organize and manage the visibility and selectability of objects in your file.

2.4.1 Layer Control

With NX 12, you can control whether objects are visible or selectable by using Layers. A Layer is
a system-defined attribute such as color, font, and width that all objects in NX 12 must have. There
are 256 usable layers in NX 12, one of which is always the Work Layer. Any of the 256 layers can
be assigned to one of four classifications of status.

 Work
 Selectable
 Visible Only
 Invisible
The Work Layer is the layer that objects are created ON and is
always visible and selectable while it remains the Work Layer.
Layer 1 is the default Work Layer when starting a new part file.
When the Work Layer is changed to another type of layer, the
previous Work Layer automatically becomes Selectable and can
then be assigned a status of Visible Only or Invisible.

The number of objects that can be on one layer is not limited. You
have the freedom to choose whichever layer you want to create
the object on and the status of that layer.

To assign a status to a layer or layers,

 Choose View →Layer Settings

However, it should be noted that the use of company standards in

regards to layers would be advantageous to maintain a consistency
between files.

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2.4.2 Commands in Layers
We will follow simple steps to practice the commands in Layers. First, we will create two objects
(Solids) by the method as follows. The details of Solid Modeling will be discussed in the next
chapter. The solids that we draw here are only for practice in this chapter.

 Choose File →New

Name the file and choose a folder in which to save it. Make
sure you select the units to be millimeters in the drop-down
menu. Choose the file type as Model

 Choose Menu →Insert →Design Feature

→Cone
 Choose Diameter and Height under Type

 Click OK

 Right-click on the screen and choose Orient View

→Trimetric

 Right-click on the screen and choose Rendering

Style →Shaded

You will be able to see a solid cone similar to the picture

on right.

Now let us practice some Layer Commands.

 Choose View →Move to Layer

You will be asked to select an object

 Move the cursor on to the Cone and click on it so that it becomes highlighted

 Click OK

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  In the Destination Layer or Category space at the top of the window, type 25 and Click
OK

The Cone has now gone to the 25th layer. It can no longer be
seen in Layer 1.

 To see the Cone, click View →Layer Settings

 You can see that Layer 25 has the object whereas the
default Work Layer 1 has no objects.

The Cone will again be seen on the screen. Save the file as we
will be using it later in the tutorial.

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2.5 COORDINATE SYSTEMS

There are different coordinate systems in NX. A three-axis symbol is used to identify the
coordinate system.

2.5.1 Absolute Coordinate System

The Absolute Coordinate System is the coordinate system from which
all objects are referenced. This is a fixed coordinate system and the
locations and orientations of every object in NX 12 modeling space are
related back to this system. The Absolute Coordinate System (or
Absolute CSYS) also provides a common frame of reference between
part files. An absolute position at X=1, Y=1, and Z=1 in one part file is
the same location in any other part file.

The View Triad on the bottom-left of the Graphics window is ONLY a visual
indicator that represents the ORIENTATION of the Absolute Coordinate System
of the model.

2.5.2 Work Coordinate System

The Work Coordinate System (WCS) is what you will use for construction when you want to
determine orientations and angles of features. The axes of the WCS are denoted XC, YC, and ZC.
(The “C” stands for “current”). It is
possible to have multiple coordinate
systems in a part file, but only one of them
can be the work coordinate system.

2.5.3 Moving the WCS

Here, you will learn how to translate and
rotate the WCS.

 Choose Menu →Format →WCS

2.5.3.1 Translate the WCS

This procedure will move the WCS origin
to any point you specify, but the

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orientation (direction of the axes) of the WCS will remain the same.

 Choose Menu →Format →WCS →Origin

The Point Constructor dialog is displayed. You either can

specify a point from the drop down menu at the top of the
dialog box or enter the X-Y-Z coordinates in the XC, YC,
and ZC fields.

The majority of the work will be in relation to the Work

Coordinate System rather than the Absolute Coordinate
System. The default is the WCS.

2.5.3.2 Rotate the WCS

You can also rotate the WCS around one of its axes.

 Choose Menu → Format →WCS →Rotate

The dialog shows six different ways to rotate the WCS

around an axis. These rotation procedures follow the right-
hand rule of rotation. You can also specify the angle to which the
WCS be rotated.

You can save the current location and orientation of the WCS to use
as a permanent coordinate system.

 Choose Menu →Format →WCS →Save

2.6 TOOLBARS

Toolbars contain icons, which serve as shortcuts for many functions.

The figure on the right shows the main Toolbar items normally
displayed. However, you can find many more icons for different
feature commands, based on the module selected and how the
module is customized.

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  Right-Clicking anywhere on the existing toolbars gives a list of other Toolbars. You can
add any of the toolbars by checking them.

Normally, the default setting should be sufficient for most operations but during certain operations,
you might need additional toolbars. If you want to add buttons pertaining to the commands and
toolbars,

 Click on the pull-down arrow on any of the Toolbars and choose Customize.

This will pop up a Customize dialog window with all the Toolbars and commands pertaining to
each Toolbar under Commands tab. To add a command,

 Choose a category and drag the command from the Commands list to the desired location.

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You can customize the settings of your NX 12 interface by
clicking on the Roles tab on the Resource Bar.

The Roles tab has different settings of the toolbar menus

that are displayed on the NX 12 interface. It allows you to
customize the toolbars you desire to be displayed in the
Interface.

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